Tourist Information Guide

Formula 1 Gran Premio de España 2017 (Spanish Grand Prix Formula 1)

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Grand Prix Barcelona

This page will give you all of the essentials practicalities for attending the Formula 1 Gran Premio de España 2017 (Spanish F1 Grand Prix). Find out how to travel to the circuit, how to buy your Grand Prix tickets and how to prepare for the day to ensure that it is as easy and pleasurable as possible.

Where Is The Formula 1 Gran Premio de España 2017 venue?

The event will be staged at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya which is 12 miles (20km) North East of Barcelona city centre. It is situated in a small town called Montmelo.

How to buy your tickets?

We have written a detailed page on how to buy your tickets, follow the link below. If you want to find offers of cheap tickets then it is advisable to book early online because that is where the deals and offers can be found. The discounted ticket offers normally end about 2.5 months before the event.

You can catch the train from either Barcelona Sants, Passeig de Gràcia or Clot rail stations in Barcelona centre. You will then need to get off at Montmelo station which is the nearest stop to the Catalunya F1 race circuit.

Train Tickets. May be purchased from any of the rail stations mentioned above.

Train Timetable: Barcelona Sants to Montmelo use the link below to look up the train timetable.

When you follow the link below select Barcelona Sants in the Origen and Montmelo for the Destinacion. Then click Horarios (timetable). The other 2 stations are not shown in this menu but the train also stops at Passeig de Gràcia and Barcelona clot.

Last year over 47,000 people used this regional train service over the three day period. The RENFE train company puts on extra trains for this period to compensate. However, it is still worth remembering that the trains are likely to be busy.

Making your way from Montmelo station to the Circuit

Once at Montmelo you have a few options to arrive at the F1 circuit. You can walk to the race circuit. It is worth noting that this is quite a difficult journey by foot. It will take around 45 minutes and is along some rather large roads.

Shuttle bus between Montmelo Station and the race circuit.

Alternatively there is a small shuttle bus that operates between the Rail station and the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. This operates throughout the day on the weekend of the event.

Shuttle bus ticket priceWe have been informed by Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya that the price of the shuttle bus single ticket is between €1.00 - €2.00 for each person. The circuit representative could not provide us with an exact price.

Frequency of the shuttle bus service between Montmelo and the circuit.

The shuttle bus service is co-ordinated with the arrival of the trains at Montmelo station and therefore the number of buses and their frequency depends on the number of people arriving.

Important note - the shuttle buses only run on the Grand Prix days and not throughout the year.

Bus Transfer from Barcelona centre to the race course

There will be a special bus service operating to transfer spectators of the GP from Barcelona Nord bus station in the city centre to the race venue at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya . This is organized by the coach company Sagalés.

The Sagalés bus service timetable and prices can be found by following this link:

Journey time is approximately 45 minutes and the numbers of coaches leaving depends on number of visitors arriving.

When the coach tickets go on sale you will be able to book the tickets from the Sagalés phone line: +34 90 213 0014 , from their online booking service, or from the station on the day of travel.

Driving to Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya

There are 32,000 parking spaces at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya . The Circuit pride themselves on being one of the international circuits with parking within close proximity of the racetrack. Despite this, it is worth bearing in mind that the track is over 4 km long. Therefore, it is essential that you park your car as close to your seating as possible.

Facilities at the track

Food

Around the edges of the track there are more than 80 points where food and drink are available. These include sandwiches, pizzas and other fast foods.

Recommended items to bring with you to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya

Formula 1 organisers suggest that it is worth bringing the following with you to the Circuit:

Sunglasses

Sun Cream

A Hat

Comfortable Shoes

Ear plugs or ear muffs

The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is a large and exposed area. The races will be taking place under the Spanish sun at the height of the summer. Bear this in mind when preparing for your day and bring everything that you can to make the experience as pleasant as possible.

People with tickets for the non-seated grass Pelouse area often bring umbrellas. Not only will this protect you from the strong Spanish sun, it will also help you to hold on to your space if you have a prime position for watching the race.

Many people also bring ear muffs or earplugs or headphones to the event as the noise produced by the cars can be extremely loud. True Formula 1 aficionados have headphones with special built-in radios. This allows them to listen to the race commentary whilst blocking out external noise.

Things not to bring to the Formula 1 Gran Premio de España 2017 event

According to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, visitors are not permitted to make/create/store/record or transmit any sound recording or audio visual footage of the event. They also say any equipment that may enable you to do this is not permitted. However personal electronic devices such as mobile phones or hand held personal communication devices are allowed as long as the images are for private, personal and non commercial use.

This means you are not permitted to bring professional recording devices such as SLR Cameras, DSLR video cameras or pro recording grear without first obtaining permission from the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

We recommend that if you have any doubts about the type of camera or recording equipment that you intend to bring to the event, or any other questions about recordings it is best to contact the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya directly to confirm with them in advance of your trip. You do not want to turn up on the day of the race only to find out you are not permitted to enter with your camera equipment.

Disabled Facilities

The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya has various facilities for disabled customers.

Disabled parking is located in front of Gate 1 (North Area) in PA2.

Disabled seating is available on the top section of Grandstand G (Stadium Area) and in the main Grandstand (Main Straight, in front of the pits).

The main grandstand has lifts and adapted toilets. Grandstand G also has a adapted toilets.

A general admission ticket will ensure access to all of these areas.

Screens

There are 18 screens placed around the circuit. These have been designed to assure that all seats at any point in the Circuit can view the whole race.

When to Arrive at the Circuit

Friday 12 May 2017 the circuit will be open from 10:00 .

Saturday 13 May 2017 the circuit will be open from 09:45 .

Sunday 14 May 2017 the circuit will be open from 09:15 .

For those with tickets for the Pelouse area there is even more reason to get to the circuit as early as possible. As there is no seating in this section, the early birds can secure the prime spots for the race and spread out with their umbrellas and picnic blankets.

Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya director, Salvador Servià, advised that it is worth being patient on leaving the circuit at the end of the day. To avoid large crowds and queues of traffic you should simply take a walk around the circuit or go for a drink until the crowds have subsided.